As I noted before, I'm on vacation and will not be posting any serious political stuff. Here is some un-serious stuff, starting with the tale of my dog's haircut:

The problem with Wheaten terriers is that their hair grows so long that it gets into their eyes and generally becomes unmanageable.

For that reason, Beach Betty gets a haircut every summer. She just got her annual scalping. The only groomer who can handle her is Dianne of Dianne's on Bridge Avenue in Point Pleasant.

I had never been to Dianne's before taking her there the other day. Last year it was my wife who took her. I wasn't even sure where the shop was.

That didn't matter to Betty. Even though we drive down Bridge Avenue regularly, this time she somehow sensed she was going to get scalped. She started moaning and whining and didn't stop until I opened the car door at the shop. Then she raced up to the shop door - and promptly stopped dead when I tried to get her to go in.

An hour later my wife Andrea went to pick her up. You can see the results.

When she got home, I took her for a long run over at Allaire State Park. That's one of my favorite places to run. People tend to think of the park as just that deserted village, which is lovely, but in fact the park and its environs include more than 6,000 acres of woods and fields. There are some quite steep hills, which is amazing for the Shore area.

Once you get south of Allaire, the coastal plain is flat all the way to Cuba. The hills of Allaire would thus be perfect for running - if not for the ticks. Unfortunately they're everywhere this time of year, so Betty and I have to stick to the widest paths rather than plunge through the woods as we prefer to do in winter.

As for the surf, we remain stuck in that south-wind pattern that produces extreme chop and extremely cold water. I went out for a surf last evening and the water seemed even colder than the day before, about 60 or so. If not for a sealed O'Neill 4/3 full suit, I would have been freezing. Earlier in the day I had been overheating while running just a few miles inland. On the beach, it still felt like May.

The good news is that there's been a consistent small swell for the past week or so. That offers a chance to get some paddling in and generally get into good surfing shape. There's always a wave if you're willing to negotiate the conditions.

Some other summer photos follow:

This was just one of many good days over the winter. If you can stand cold water, Jersey in winter's a great surf spot.

The Lyman Street beach in Mantoloking doesn't look much better than it did the day after Sandy. The ocean broke through and formed a new inlet here, and the recovery will be long. On the plus side, the surf is uncrowded and accessible to anyone willing to pay $12 for a season badge.

I stopped in Newark to take a photo of this amazing rainbow. The guy in the picture made the usual joke about how he'd like to collect the pot of gold at the end. So would I. The north end would have been on Wall Street.

The only users of my backyard pool so far this year.

Billy Hector: Playing Wednesdays at Marlin's in Point Pleasant; it's the best show at the Shore. Anthony Venutolo/The Star-Ledger